Monster Truck Birthday!

Carter celebrated his 4th birthday with a monster truck/gymnastics party! The kids had free rein of the equipment, which was a huge hit! Here a few pictures from the day...enjoy!

Happy Birthday Carter-Roo!

I can't believe my baby boy turned 4 today. Seriously, where has the time gone? It seems like yesterday that I woke up not feeling well, knowing that there was no way that I would be having a baby a month early while Sam and my mom were out of town. However, God had other plans, and a few hours later he arrived happy and healthy! Although that day was one of the scariest of my life, the blessing it brought me is unmeasurable!

Happy 4th Birthday, Carter! I can't wait to see what God has in store for you this year! We love you!

Gingerbread Houses

There's nothing better than spending a cold (snowy) day in your pajamas making gingerbread houses with your Gaga!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

I love this time of year for many reasons: the sights, the smells, the lights, etc....but mostly for the joy that it brings. I feel that this is the first year that the kids (mostly Carter) really understand what is going on, and it is been fun practicing some of my kindergarten skills on them!

Yesterday we made red playdough and got out the Christmas cookie cutters!

The kids have a "Little People" Nativity that I got out a few days for them to play with during Advent, and Ally has been obsessed with it since I opened it! She began by just carrying Baby Jesus around with her ALL THE TIME (he even sleeps with her), and now it has progressed into Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus! There is a baby bottle from one of her baby dolls that she uses to feed Baby Jesus, and it has to sit right next to the manger! Here is a picture of them on her mimi (her very special blanket) watching a movie with her! If she isn't holding them, and they aren't resting on her mimi, then she is carrying them around in a tupperware bowl!
We let the kiddos watch "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" last night in their Christmas pajamas!

I had the opportunity to help Carter's class make bird feeders for their playground! It was cold outside, but they had fun making several different types of feeders and finding places to hang them!

After Carter finished his feeders, he found this bike and rode of it the rest of the outside time (about 35 minutes) with some of the other boys in the class. Now I know why he says "playing outside" is his favorite thing about school!!!

Dear Santa...

The kids wrote their letters to Santa yesterday, and they did a great job dictating what they wanted me to write and decorating them! Carter wants an Army helmet, batman costume and marshmallow gun! Ally asked for a princess dress (with high heels and crown) and Cinderella baby doll!

First Day of Advent

Carter and Ally had the opportunity to sing in a special church service, "Hanging of the Greens," with their children's choir today to kick off the Christmas Season. The both did really well, but unfortunately we didn't get any good pictures.

Catching Up - November

Here are the highlights of our busy month!

HOT SHOTS SOCCER:

Carter has been participating in a preschool soccer program since September. It is a noncompetitive group, and he loved getting out on the field and learning some new soccer "tricks" every week!

Some days were easier that others to keep Ally entertained during the hour Carter played - this picture is one of those times! I finally convinced her that running to the soccer goal in the background was lots of fun, but she caught on pretty fast and it only lasted two or three times!

JUNIOR LEAGUE CHARITY BALL:

Sam and I decided that we would attend Ball for the first time in my four years of Junior League! Finding a dress was a little stressful, but I finally found one two days before the big day and I LOVED it! It was so fun to get dressed up for a night on the town with friends!

CORPUS CHRISTI:

We made a quick trip down to Corpus to celebrate Sam's grandmother's 80th birthday. It was a whirlwind trip, but I'm glad we did it. The kids loved seeing the beach and the ocean!

It is hard to tell in the picture, but Ally has a really big goose egg on her head! She tripped and fell in the bathroom five minutes after we checked into the hotel!

The best part of the trip - according to the kids - eating ice cream sandwiches in the hotel room instead of going to bed!

Great-Grandmommy Angeline with Carter and Ally.

We made a fast-paced visit to the aquarium. The kids were impressed with the sharks and big fish!

Three generations of Noynaert men!

We stayed right next to the USS Lexington, which Carter thought was VERY cool! We didn't take him on it this trip, but we promised him we would take him next time!

THANKSGIVING:

We had a great Thanksgiving! We spent the day at my mom's house playing outside and relaxing, and then we got to watch the Aggies play T.U. at Kyle Field! We are very thankful for all our blessings!

Catching Up - October

Well, it's official...I'm a blogging slacker! Sam quietly mentioned that I hadn't updated the blog in a long time, which he informed me that he checks every morning when he gets to work (who knew!!)! This one is for you, Sam...and the other two or three people that check in.

We had the chance to take the kids to Dewberry Farm near Katy, TX right before Halloween, and they LOVED it! Carter still talks about it all the time, and he asks a couple of times a week when we can go back to "Blueberry Farm!" Here are some pictures from our fun day!

Halloween: this was the first year that Carter was really into trick-or-treating. He has developed the biggest sweet tooth lately, which meant that he thought it was really neat that every time you went to a house they would usually give you a handful of candy! Ally liked it, too, but she had a hard time keeping up with the "big" kids, and by the end of the night she just wanted to be carried! We started the night by going to a Halloween party at a friend's house...then off to our old neighborhood to load up on the sweets!

I'm sure that we did lots more fun and exciting things during the month, but it is all just a blur to me now (this is what I get for not updating more often!).